Sandwich
In short: “Sandwich” is named after the 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century British nobleman. People ate food between bread long before him, but his name stuck.
Did you know that the word "sandwich" comes from an 18th-century British aristocrat? The Earl of Sandwich loved playing cards so much that he refused to leave the table for a meal. Instead, he asked for his meat to be placed between two slices of bread—creating the first "sandwich"!
How to use it
Today “sandwich” is an everyday word for any filling between slices of bread or in a roll. It’s also a verb: if something is “sandwiched” between two things, it’s squeezed in the middle. You’ll hear this often about busy schedules.
Examples
- I’m just grabbing a sandwich for lunch.
- Can I get a turkey sandwich on whole wheat, please?
- My dentist appointment is sandwiched between two meetings, so I can’t be late.
A common mistake
The plural is sandwiches, not “sandwichs.” And in everyday speech the D is usually silent: SAN-wich.
Where it comes from
The word is first recorded in the 1760s. A popular story from that time says the Earl ate meat between bread so he could keep playing cards, but others say he ate that way while working at his desk. Either way, he didn’t invent the idea. People had eaten bread with fillings for centuries.
Say it out loud
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Source: History.com